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<title>and more it cannot die by manywheels</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28110276">and more it cannot die</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/manywheels/pseuds/manywheels'>manywheels</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Locked Tomb Trilogy | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, References to Depression</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:35:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>874</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28110276</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/manywheels/pseuds/manywheels</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>it is most sane and sunly<br/>and more it cannot die<br/>than all the sky which only<br/>is higher than the sky<br/>- e e cummings, "love is more thicker than forget"</p>
<p>In the Sixth House, where the only histories of God's death and the Tomb Unlocked might be found, Harrowhark Nonagesimus attempts to uncover the past and save the Ninth. Gideon Nav attempts only to save Harrow.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>and more it cannot die</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">When Harrow kisses Gideon, it's long and languid. It's like a snow leek - a little sour, a little sweet, and utterly a product of the Ninth House. Maybe back when God was still alive, when the tomb was shut, Drearburh had been filled with frenetic activity, but Harrow's always been the epitome of the Ninth House in the present - slow, patient, careful.</p>
<p class="p1">Harrow's always like this when she gets back from the library. The Sixth House's facilities are nothing to scoff at, but without the expertise of Cohort historians half the archive might as well be written in gibberish. Delving through what little they had left of the Ninth's past always leaves her exhausted and bleak. Gideon's no ray of sunshine either, most days, but today she can see that all Harrow really needs is a hug and a blanket. And probably some dinner, given her tendency to skip meals.</p>
<p class="p1">Harrow's bent over Gideon, in the kind of bow that would be murder on the neck for anyone who wasn't a boneless nun stuffed into a bag resembling a person. A few more seconds of this and -</p>
<p class="p1">"Harrow, you always fall over and you always end up on the floor," Gideon says.</p>
<p class="p1">"Shut up, Griddle," Harrow says, her form an ungainly mess on the polished marble. Only the best for the scions of the Ninth, even if one was an unnamed orphan and the other the sense of impending dread given human form.</p>
<p class="p1">"Have you eaten today? You know it's cinnamon bread on Tuesdays for dinner. If you don't get there in time they always run out," Gideon says. The Sixth's commissary is far more interesting and varied than anything they'd ever had on the NInth. Harrow'd stubbornly stuck to the most tasteless food when they'd arrived, but Gideon had been won over by sugared coffee and spotted spinach the day she saw them.</p>
<p class="p1">"I was too tired. I just want to go to bed," Harrow says. She sounds more defeated than Gideon's heard in a while. Gideon puts away her greatsword - Pro hadn't been vicious enough to damage it in the spar but she'd wanted to check anyway. She stands up and leans over Harrow, trying to gauge whether she'd be able to -</p>
<p class="p1">"I can see you inspecting me, Griddle. I'm not your stupid weapon. I'll be fine, just leave me alone," Harrow says. Well, that's not going to do, is it.</p>
<p class="p1">Gideon's carried lots of people in her life, but for better or worse Harrow's rarely been one of them. But if she's going to get any proper rest tonight, it won't be because she walked herself there. In one smooth motion she picks Harrow up - one arm beneath her neck, the other beneath her legs, bend from the knees, and <em>up. </em></p>
<p class="p1">Harrow lets out an indignant squawk. "Griddle, I'm not some child you can manhandle, put me the fuck down," she says. It's not a long walk from their shared living room to the bedroom. They <em>had</em> separate bedrooms, theoretically. But Harrow's bedroom is some kind of unholy combination of study and bone memorial. Even if she'll never be able to actually do any necromancy, Harrow's convinced that putting the bones in the right way, in the right order will somehow inspire her.</p>
<p class="p1">Instead, they both sleep in Gideon's room, on the bed that is just about the right size for the two of them if they don't mind the occasional elbow in the chest or the eye.</p>
<p class="p1">As Gideon lays her down, Harrow's struggles briefly stop. "I can't do it, Griddle. I can't. I can't even get myself to fucking bed. How am I going to save the Ninth?" Her voice cracks, and for just a moment her face looks exactly like her mother's. Then she begins to cry, slowly and softly, the Ninth even in this exactly like she is at all other times. It makes Gideon angry, when she sees her like this. They'd fucked both of them up, each worse than the other. But when Gideon goes into the training room with a fury like the Dominican sun, she's got Pro and Jeannemary and Camilla and even Colum, sometimes. Harrow doesn't let go of her sadness unless she's got no other choice, and there's nobody but Gideon who can help when she does.</p>
<p class="p1">She lies down next to Harrow on the slightly-too-small bed, its softness even now a little alien to both of them, puts her arms around Harrow and turns her so they face each other. "Hey. Hey. I'm here. You saved me, remember? You already saved me, and I was the <em>most</em> difficult person in that fucking tomb to save. You're going to do it, Harrow. You and me both. One way or another. And I'll be with you every step of the way," she says. She's crying now, too, but Gideon's not like Harrow. When she cries, her eyes get moist and her throat clenches up but she can muster words.</p>
<p class="p1">"I'm not going anywhere, my darling. I'm not going anywhere," she says. And though they both know that the only sure thing in the world is death, Gideon holds on to Harrow and knows that there's life and love, and it'll be enough.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i began writing this for a prompt but it doesn't fit the prompt anymore. on the other hand, i spent about twenty minutes reading cummings so it wasn't all bad.</p>
<p>you can find me on tumblr <a href="https://indigocotton.tumblr.com/">here.</a></p>
<p>i may post headcanons as and when i think about them</p></blockquote></div></div>
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